I did not go out when the ship was in Punta del Este (Uruguay) as I had a more exciting plan when the ship gets to Ilhabela, Brazil the next day. It was raining when the ship arrived in Ilhabela in the morning, but the forecast was very promising for sunshine later in the afternoon.
A municipality on the North Coast of São Paulo, Ilhabela is considered one of the natural paradise of the São Paulo coast. Ilhabela means “beautiful island”. The place is known for its forest-covered mountains, amazing beaches, and savage trails.
Lisabella has one of the finest beaches in Brazil, so the beach I was headed to that day and I wanted to stay longer there and enjoy swimming under the sun more time I could. Since Ilhabela is also a tendering port, so I had to catch the earliest tender leaving the ship after lunch and be back onboard just before crew shore leave expires – that’s two hours before the ship’s scheduled departure and always an hour ahead as compared with the guests’. Onboard the tender leaving the ship at anchor, the rain started to turn into showers – a very good sign that sooner or later the sun was about to come!
The beach is just about 10 minute walk from the tender pier. There’s a nice roadside walkway going to the beach with a few roadside open-air bars and restaurants. I dropped by one of the bars, grab a can of beer, sit there for a while, let the rain showers pour to their last drop, and took time to enjoy the relaxing ocean view right in front of me. The ocean view is my everyday view while driving the ship. But to be on the shore and to be on a floating ship were two contrasting feelings only seafarers would know.
As predicted, the rain eventually stopped and the earlier gloomy weather lit up, transforming Ilhabela into another beautiful spot on earth to enjoy the sand and the sun. My plan definitely went too well! So grateful for that!
Time to leave the bar and walked the remaining meters to the beach. I wasn’t at all surprised to arrive at the beach with just only a few people – beachgoers were spread to the kilometer-long stretch of beaches around the island. What I was surprised with was to find some of my colleagues already there enjoying the beach hours ahead of me. How could this happen? 🙂 🙂 I was so envious!
Without wasting a single second, I removed my shoes, placed them under the tree, and run to the waiting warm Brazilian waters! Though it’s not as powdery as those in Boracay Island, Philippines, walking on Ilhabela’s brownish-white sandy beach still felt so smooth with my feet.
I longed to stay on the beach for another 4 hours but that was and would never be the case. I checked my watch and it clearly demanded I get off the water and started heading back to the pier for the next 45 minutes. I didn’t want to be late in returning back to the ship – the consequence was high enough 🙂 🙂 🙂
So that was it – I had a great day in Ilhabela!
